Even as the Crime Branch has taken over probe into rape and murder of a minor tribal girl in Chatroo area of Kishtwar, a female sanitation worker was arrested on Sunday, thereby taking the total number of arrests to seven.
The seventh accused arrested has been identified as Zarina Begum, 46, of Bandrina area in Kishtwar. A six-member SIT of police had already arrested six accused that included prime accused Khalid Hussain Sheikh, 42, his brothers Tariq Hussain, Riaz Hussain, sanitation worker Farooq Ahmed of Sangrambhatta, Isaaq Mohammad, staff nurse Sonika Parihar.
“The female sanitation worker was posted at District Hospital, Kishtwar, where the victim was taken on August 20 for an illegal termination of pregnancy.
The victim had died on the same day after delivering a stillborn child,” said people familiar with the development. However, the victim’s father in a video message conveyed to Nath said that since the probe has been handed over to the crime branch, he would not pursue the matter further before the high court and would prefer to wait for the outcome of the crime branch probe.
Nath had moved a petition before the high court on behalf of the victim’s father seeking a crime branch probe.
The High Court of J&K and Ladakh, on Monday, directed the state to produce a detailed order of transferring the case to the crime branch on the next date of hearing, i.e., September 11. “The high court headed by Justice Rahul Bharti has sought a complete order of transferring the case to the crime branch with all the details of who will head the probe.
The court has taken up the matter seriously,” said advocate Deepika Pushkar Nath.
